William Shawn
William Shawn (né Chon; August 31, 1907 – December 8, 1992) was an American magazine editor who edited The New Yorker from 1952 until 1987.
William Shawn
December 8, 1992 (aged 85)
Early life and education[edit]
Shawn was born William Chon on August 31, 1907, in Chicago, Illinois, to Benjamin T. Chon,[1] a cutlery salesman, and Anna Bransky Chon. He was the youngest of five. His older siblings were Harold (1892-1967), Melba (1894-1964), Nelson (1898-1974), and Myron (1902-1987). His family were non-observant Jews from Eastern Europe.[2] William dropped out of the University of Michigan after two years (1925-1927)[3] and began working.
Career[edit]
Early years[edit]
Shawn traveled to Las Vegas, New Mexico,[4] where he worked at the local newspaper, The Optic. He returned to Chicago and worked as a journalist. Around 1930 he changed the spelling of his last name to Shawn. In 1932, he and his wife, Cecille, moved to New York City, where he tried to start a career as a composer.[2]
At The New Yorker[edit]
Soon after their arrival in New York City, Cecille took a fact checking job at The New Yorker magazine, and her husband began working there in 1933.[2] His temperament contrasted with that of the magazine's founder Harold Ross. Colleagues later described him as "shy", "deferential", having a "strange presence". Lillian Ross recalled that Shawn believed in the value of every life, even that of Hitler. Shawn stayed with the magazine for 53 years.
Awards and achievements[edit]
In 1988, Shawn received the George Polk Career Award in recognition of his lifelong achievements.[8]
Personal life[edit]
Shawn married journalist Cecille Lyon (1906–2005) in 1928, and the couple had three children: writer and actor Wallace Shawn, and twins Allen Shawn and Mary. Mary, who was eventually diagnosed with autism, was sent away from the family when she was eight years old to attend a special school, and later institutionalized.[9] Allen became a composer. In 2007, he published a memoir, Wish I Could Be There, centering on his phobias.[9] In 2010, he published a memoir, Twin, about his childhood and his relationship with his sister.[10]
In 1996, Shawn's longtime New Yorker colleague Lillian Ross wrote in a memoir that she and Shawn had had an affair from 1950 until his death, with Lyon's knowledge.[11] Ross said that Shawn was also active in raising her adopted son, Erik. The memoir's publication was controversial, in part because Shawn deeply valued his privacy.[12]